Characterization of the Nairobi River catchment impact zone and occurrence of pharmaceuticals: implications for an impact zone inclusive environmental risk assessment

The largely uncontrolled release of active pharmaceuticals ingredients (APIs) within untreated wastewater discharged to waterbodies, associated with many rapidly urbanising centres is of growing concern owing to potential antimicrobial resistance, endocrine disruption and potential toxicity. A sampling campaign has been undertaken to assess the source, occurrence, magnitude and risk associated with APIs and other chemicals within the Nairobi/Athi river basin, in Kenya, East Africa. The catchment showed an extensive downstream impact zone estimated to extend 75 km, mostly, but not exclusively, derived from the direct discharge of untreated wastewater from the urban centre of Nairobi city. The exact extent of the downstream boundary of the Nairobi city impact zone was unclear owing to the inputs of untreated wastewater sources from the continuous urbanized areas along the river, which counteracted the natural attenuation caused by dilution and degradation. The most frequently detected APIs and chemicals were caffeine, carbamazepine, trimethoprim, nicotine, and sulfamethoxazole. Paracetamol, caffeine, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim alone contributed 86% of the total amount of APIs determined along the Nairobi/Athi catchment. In addition to direct discharge of untreated domestic wastewater attributed to the informal settlements within the conurbation, other sources were linked to the industrial area in Nairobi City where drug formulation is known to occur, the Dandora landfill and veterinary medicines from upstream agriculture. It was shown that there was a possible environmental risk of API ecotoxicological effects beyond the end of the traditional impact zone defined by elevated biochemical oxygen demand concentrations; with metronidazole and sulfamethoxazole exhibiting the highest risk

Cost Leadership Strategy: A New Game Strategy for Competitive Advantage in Milk Processing Firms in Kenya

Competitive advantage refers to the benefits that firms accrue from unique combination of possessions to outperform competitors. To build competitive advantage as a gateway to superior performance, firms pursue various beneficial strategic orientations. This study sought to establish whether cost leadership strategy gave rise to competitive advantage in milk processing firms in Kenya. The authors utilized the indicators of economies of scale, economies of scope and operational efficiency to operationalize cost leadership strategy while competitive advantage was operationalized through capabilities and knowledge. A census of all the milk processing firms was conducted with 148 respondents participating in the study. Data was collected using semi-structured self-administered questionnaires and subsequently analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study concluded that cost leadership strategy was a source of competitive advantage for the milk processors. It therefore recommends pursuit of cost leadership strategy as a competitive tool. It further recommends building of relevant capabilities and protection of tacit knowledge by firms as foundational blocks for competitive advantage

Fatty Acids Composition in Some Tissues of Commercially Selected Freshwater and Marine Fishes of the Kenyan Waters

Fatty acid composition analysis in some tissues of commercially available freshwater and marine fishes in the Kenyan waters was conducted. Four (4) fish species from Lake Naivasha; Largemouth bass or black bass (Micropterus salmoides), Common carp (Cyprinus carpio), Mirror carp (Cyprinus specularis) and Tilapia (Oreochromis leucostictus) and three (3) species from the Indian Ocean; Red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus), White snapper (Macolor niger) and Rabbit fish (Siganus ludridus)] were sampled and analyzed. GC-MS analysis was performed using a GC Voyager-800 series with Trio-01 MS detector in electron ionization (EI) mode to determine qualitatively the fatty acids composition in fish oils. The study revealed that freshwater fish contain essentially omega-6 (ω-6) fatty acids series of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) while the marine fishes have more omega[1]3 (ω-3) fatty acids series. The linoleic acid (LA, C18:2) was the prominent omega-6 (ω-6) fatty acid while the prominent omega-3 (ω-3) fatty acid was docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6) series. This may suggest that the dietary essential fatty acids available for marine fishes was the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids which may be absent and hence unavailable for freshwater fishes Thus, the marine fish species are better providers of omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA (C22:6n-3) while the freshwater species are better providers of omega-6 fatty acids such as the linoleic acid (C18:2n-6) as well as the arachidonic acid (C20:4n-6). This study reveals that marine fish species contain appreciable levels of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and would therefore be suitable for the provision of highly unsaturated low-fat diet containing omega-3 fatty acids while freshwater fishes will provide the ω-6 fatty acids. This study however, may not explain whether the ω-3 fatty acids observed in marine fishes are derived directly from the fish diet or the fish species are good converters of the short chain ω-3 fatty acids like linolenic acid (18:3n-3) into EPA and DHA through enzyme controlled de-saturation followed by chain elongation processes